Summer Associates 2014: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences... Forum

[Bildungsroman]

Do people really post on their fb.com about offers? That's crazy.

[OfThriceandTen]

Do people really post on their fb.com about offers? That's crazy.

I've seen some "when I got my offer" celebratory shot pics. A twofer of shitty facebooking.

[El Pollito]

It just means "you fired yourself."

No it fucking doesn't, mongoloid

Pretty sure he was kidding.

Speaking of Mongolians.

[Old Gregg]

Do people really post on their fb.com about offers? That's crazy.

Brother darkness has been posting scans of his board resolution mark ups since last year.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if this comes across as a clueless question, but is there like a given protocol for the last day? I was just going to go around and personally say thanks/goodbye to the attorneys and staff that I worked with, and leave it at that. But one of my friends say it's a requirement to hand off thank you cards to people, and another says you should email everybody on the last day to say goodbye. Is this the standard? I just don't want to seem weird.

Working at a mid-sized/casual firm, if that changes anything.

[Bildungsroman]

Sorry if this comes across as a clueless question, but is there like a given protocol for the last day? I was just going to go around and personally say thanks/goodbye to the attorneys and staff that I worked with, and leave it at that. But one of my friends say it's a requirement to hand off thank you cards to people, and another says you should email everybody on the last day to say goodbye. Is this the standard? I just don't want to seem weird.

Working at a mid-sized/casual firm, if that changes anything.

Thank you cards sound weird to me. At my firm it was common for people to stop by the offices of people for whom they had done work, people they'd been close to, etc. But it certainly wasn't required. An email is fine too. Keep in mind that these are the people who will have work to hand out when you come back as an associate, so it's not a bad idea to remind them who you are and leave them with a pleasant final memory. But don't act like a suck up.

[shock259]

We had a going away party on the last day. Great way to say goodbye and thank people. If your firm does this, attend and mingle. For people who didn't attend the going away party, I stopped by offices or sent emails, depending on how close we were. Don't go thank a partner you did a 1 hour assignment for, but don't just disappear either.

Also, some of the SAs got into thank you cards my year too. I thought it was weird and unnecessary. Didn't participate. Got an offer.

[goldeneye]

Gifts for secretaries?

[fl0w]

Gifts for secretaries?

take them to lunch if you haven't already done it during your summer. Otherwise gifts are for xmas time.

[shock259]

How much did you really use your secretary, though..?

Unless they did a ton of stuff for you, I think a heartfelt thank you is fine. Also, my secretary would have laughed at me if I tried to take her out to lunch.

[Anonymous User]

At my firm summers do flowers or food for secretaries, gifts and thank-you cards for assigned mentors, and maybe a card, e-mail, or stop-by for someone you just worked with.

Oops meant to add - large firm, secondary market, friendly culture.

[Anonymous User]

Would sending a firm-wide goodbye email be bizarre? It's a small firm, around 15 people, and I'm the only summer associate. I'm fine with doing individualized emails, but there are borderline people - ie partner I've chatted to occasionally but haven't done work for, associate I've only done 2-3 really basic assignments for, etc. Not sure what those should amount to.

[Anonymous User]

If you know all of them it seems fine. On the whole don't fire yourself thing, it's a very insensitive comment. Yes, it definitely seems to be yours to lose at most firms. But this may be market specific. There are markets where it's no where near 90%. It's also a pretty big blow. It's not like losing a regular job. If one doesn't get big law coming out they never will unless they bring a book. It's also late for public interest.

[Anonymous User]

Gifts for secretaries?

I gave a Starbucks gift card along with a thank you card to my secretary. The first year associates I talked to had done something similar when they were summers, so I decided to follow their lead since my secretary was really helpful.

[Anonymous User]

.

[Mal Reynolds]

Crucial anon use

[rustyyoda]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

[Old Gregg]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

You don't need to give a gift to your mentor.

Can't believe there are pages of e-ink being spilled on this topic.

[fl0w]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

You don't need to give a gift to your mentor.

Can't believe there are pages of e-ink being spilled on this topic.

A high-five. Who doesn't love a good fiver?

[A. Nony Mouse]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

You don't need to give a gift to your mentor.

Can't believe there are pages of e-ink being spilled on this topic.

Yeah, everything I've seen says don't give gifts to people higher than you on the food chain (mentors/supervisors), only people below you (assistants etc.).

[Old Gregg]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

You don't need to give a gift to your mentor.

Can't believe there are pages of e-ink being spilled on this topic.

Yeah, everything I've seen says don't give gifts to people higher than you on the food chain (mentors/supervisors), only people below you (assistants etc.).

And it isn't rocket science re the people below you. I gave my assistant a box of nice chocolates (if you're working in midtown, go to Neuhaus and buy a gift box-done). But if you barely interacted with your assistant, then no need to do anything. My summer class bought a collective gift for recruiting. Buying your own gift for recruiting makes your classmates who don't do it look bad (and is another step toward making people in your class dislike you).

[jbagelboy]

What would be a good gift for an assigned mentor?

You don't need to give a gift to your mentor.

Can't believe there are pages of e-ink being spilled on this topic.

Yeah, everything I've seen says don't give gifts to people higher than you on the food chain (mentors/supervisors), only people below you (assistants etc.).

And it isn't rocket science re the people below you. I gave my assistant a box of nice chocolates (if you're working in midtown, go to Neuhaus and buy a gift box-done). But if you barely interacted with your assistant, then no need to do anything. My summer class bought a collective gift for recruiting. Buying your own gift for recruiting makes your classmates who don't do it look bad (and is another step toward making people in your class dislike you).

For me its more like I absolutely know the summer in the office closest to mine will do it because he's 'that dude' so if I don't do it then I'm the jerk lol. Not sure it matters though

[Anonymous User]

What if you're close with a person above you? Is it weird to give something? I feel weird not giving something because I know they spent out of pocket money on me during the summer, and they really helped me out on assignments and whenever I had questions despite not being on the recruiting committee.

[Old Gregg]

What if you're close with a person above you? Is it weird to give something? I feel weird not giving something because I know they spent out of pocket money on me during the summer, and they really helped me out on assignments and whenever I had questions despite not being on the recruiting committee.

Use your own damn judgment.

[fl0w]

What if you're close with a person above you? Is it weird to give something? I feel weird not giving something because I know they spent out of pocket money on me during the summer, and they really helped me out on assignments and whenever I had questions despite not being on the recruiting committee.

Use your own damn judgment.

didn't you all just spend a whole summer learning how to be social with these people?